Newsletter

By Mark Lautman

In my neighborhood, residents display the “We Believe” yard signs that many of you have also seen. These yard signs evoke principles to which I personally subscribe (and not everybody does): Black Lives Matter, No Human is Illegal, Love is Love, Science is Real, Water is Life, and Women’s Rights are Human Rights.

I have found that while people articulate and rally around these principles, they more often than not do not live up to them, particularly “Science is Real.” We see so often, and so disappointingly, that humans, by virtue of human nature, first come to a conclusion and then select the science that supports it.

We see this happening with the current proposal to give county employees a stark choice: subject yourself to a COVID injection or be dismissed. The objective, as Council Member Hans Riemer mentioned, is twofold. First, vaccination is one of our most powerful tools to contain the pandemic; second, county employees who are getting vaccinated deserve to know that their workplaces are safe. 

Wholesale forced vaccinations have nothing to do with achieving these objectives. Regarding the first objective, containing the pandemic, forced vaccination defies both logic and recent history. Suppose we forcibly inject every single county employee with the COVID vaccine. With 7.8 billion people on the planet, injecting 49,000 county employees (0.0006% of the world’s population) will not contain the pandemic. If anything, the county should donate those 49,000 doses to third-world countries where they will have a much higher incremental contribution toward slowing  hospitalizations and mutations. From a historical perspective, we have seen that Montgomery County has a muted impact on world history. In 1982 Garrett Park voted to become a nuclear free zone; did that stop the arms race? No, forcing county employees to get a vaccine will not contain the pandemic; that’s the science.

The second objective, ensuring a safe workplace for employees, can be achieved without a forced vaccination regime. Much of the county’s office staff are working remotely full time or part time, so vaccination is not required to make them safe. Furthermore, wearing masks, frequent hand washing, spacing out workstations, and checking temperatures was the successful protocol before the vaccine was available; that protocol is still valid for county workers who must work inside physical facilities. Mr. Riemer specifically notes that only 63% of employees in the Department of Corrections and Fire and Rescue Services had at least one injection. Those employees (actually, all county employees) must be allowed to come to their own arrangements regarding unvaccinated co-workers. If they cannot do so, then those individual workers who are indeed posing a risk to their associates should be given the choice first of re-assignment, then vaccination, and only as a last resort dismissal. (It’s hard to believe that forced vaccination will ensure a safe workplace for FRS employees. These heroic public servants tend to victims of accidents and violence, not all of whom are vaccinated. Following Mr. Riemer’s line of reasoning, to keep FRS employees safe, they should check a resident’s vaccination record before responding to a domestic violence call.)

Vaccination ultimatums do not achieve, or are not needed to achieve, the two objectives Mr. Riemer has articulated. His proposal is not about health and safety, and it’s not about science—it is about force and violence. History, including American history, has seen episodes of forcibly using science and medicine for nothing other than eliminating “domestic enemies.” It’s a chapter in Montgomery County’s history we must avoid writing.

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Mark Lautman is an independent voter who collaborates with Democratic, Republican, and third-party initiatives when he sees a need for reform. The views expressed here are not necessarily those of the MCGOP.

Rockville, Shady Grove Metro station reopenings delayed until January!

Read more about it here.

From Montgomery County Leslie Grizzard, Maria Sofia and Anne Koutsoutis were recently sworn into leadership positions for the Maryland Federation of Republican Women at their annual conference on Maryland's eastern shore. Congratulations and thank you for your leadership.

Jan. 6th detainees must receive due process

Why are some still in jail 10 months after the fact?

OPINION By Robert L. Livingston - - Wednesday, November 10, 2021

There can be no doubt that the January 6th demonstration on the east side of the US Capitol got out of hand, no matter how well-intentioned the vast majority of participants may have been.  I’ll leave it to witnesses, investigators and historians to determine exactly what prompted participants to push their way into the Capitol, resulting in events that have been excessively hashed out in the media.  The actions of many of the troublemakers were indeed threatening and might justify the word “riot,” but to repeatedly call the events an “insurrection” is a less than credible stretch. The sole victim intentionally killed that day was Ashley Babbitt, a US veteran whose misfortune was to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. A Capitol Hill policeman shot her, the only person alleged to have discharged a firearm in the vicinity of the Capitol.

Clearly, the Capitol was inadequately defended by the civilian leadership and uniformed law enforcement. But once the tragic events had occurred, it was not surprising that many arrests were made.  To this day, almost 700 people have been arrested and charged, the vast majority of whom have been released and had their cases disposed of in varying ways.

But in his television show this past Monday, Fox News’s Tucker Carlson highlighted a trip by Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene to the Washington, DC prison where she spoke with some January 6th detainees who, to this day, 10 months after the fact, are still in jail.

Why?  As a former US Congressman and criminal prosecutor with three separate agencies, I am hardly one to sympathize with those who deliberately break the law. But I was proud to have carried out my prosecutorial duties in the name of justice and fair treatment for those who found themselves under legal scrutiny. I took seriously the rights bestowed on all citizens by our Constitution and our Bill of Rights, including the rights of a defendant to be told of the charges against them (Article V); the right to avoid excessive bail (Article VIII);  the right to a speedy trial with the assistance of Counsel (Article VI); and the right not to be deprived of liberty in unreasonable conditions without due process of law (Article V).

I wasn’t at the Capitol on January 6th.  I don’t know and have never met Ms. Greene or any of the people still held in the DC prison.  I know nothing of the individual cases or the evidence against any of them.  I am simply a citizen who has watched events unfold these past 10 months. I observed a fence erected around the Capitol, removed after six months, and then put back up for the July 4th festivities. I’ve seen the House of Representatives appoint an Investigation Committee accepting some but not all Members proposed by Minority Leadership. None of this is of immediate concern to me.

But I am concerned, nay, I’m shocked by the ongoing stories of prospective defendants who have been arrested and deprived of their livelihoods; confined in solitary confinement with little or no reasonable access to the outside world, their families or adequate legal counsel; and denied formal charges levied against them without bail and in contravention to their right to a speedy trial.  This past summer, I spoke with an employee at the federally appointed Public Defender’s Office who told me that they were not even representing any of these folks.  

Where is the ACLU? Where are the “civil rights” defenders who should be screaming from the rooftops about this flagrant denial of due process? We made exceptions for due process at Guantanamo for terrorists who took up arms against us in Iraq and Afghanistan.  But this is America!  Most of these people are at worst guilty of trespass or destruction of government property.  But for crying out loud, charge them, arraign them, and bring them to trial with counsel of their choice.  Stop simply confining them without respect for their rights as American citizens. Otherwise, they are no better off than if they were victims of a “star chamber” process that Kafka (“The Trial”) and Koestler (“Darkness at Noon”) warned us about. This atrocity must stop, and it must stop soon. 

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• A distinguished former Republican Member of Congress from Louisiana, Robert L. Livingston is a Founding Partner of The Livingston Group.

Copyright © 2021 The Washington Times, LLC

Reprinted from The Washington Times https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2021/nov/10/jan-6th-detainees-must-receive-due-process/

Explore MoCo for the Holidays

Explore all that Montgomery County has to offer this holiday season! Here are a few great activities to enjoy with family and friends:

• Garden of Lights at Brookside Gardens

• • • When: November 19 - January 2

• Winter Lights Festival at Seneca Creek State Park 

• • • When: November 26 - December 31

• Sounds of the Season in Downtown Silver Spring

• • • When: November 27 - December 18

• Sounds of the Season at Rio Lakefront

• • • When: November 19 - December 19 

• Butler’s Holiday Harvest Days at Butler’s Orchard 

• • • When: November 27 - December 7

• Wreath Making Workshop in Downtown Silver Spring

• • • When: December 4

• Virtual Turkey Chase

• • • When: November 15 - November 30

• Giving Help for the Holidays - Volunteer Opportunities through Montgomery County’s Volunteer Center

• • Opportunities available year-round

MONTGOMERY LATINO REPUBLICANS

Our men and women members have roots in Latin America, and come from diverse backgrounds - all living the American dream. We stand for freedom, democracy, equal opportunity, entrepreneurship, and the value of hard work, family, faith, and community. Please join us and add your valuable input to the ongoing dialogue.

All across Maryland politics is going on . . . don't be left out!

FREDERICK, MD – Republican candidate for Maryland’s Sixth Congressional District, Dr. Mariela Roca, has been officially endorsed by former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Newt Gingrich. Speaker Gingrich visited the district last October and hosted a fundraising event in support of Dr. Roca. Today, our campaign is proud and honored to receive this endorsement from Speaker Gingrich, who with his “Contract with America” led the Republican Party to victory in 1994 by capturing the majority in the U.S. House of Representatives for the first time in forty years.

With the ongoing “Biden Remorse” and the continued random antics of our local Legislators and County Council, I think that we Republicans are in a very unique place. It is time to make a difference. Will you help us:

• Lead the fight against teaching Critical Race Theory (CRT) in our schools.
• End Gerrymandered Voting Districts so all citizens have a voice.
• Demand Election Integrity for every aspect of the voting process.
• Fight to eliminate dangerous sanctuary status for illegal immigrants.
• Push to reinstate funding for our Police and needed School Resource Officers (SROs).
• Lead the response to out-of-control County Council spending, tax increases, and radical social dictums.
• Stop the proposed Thrive Montgomery 2050 Plan designed to eliminate single family homes.

It is time to get active and get involved. The wind is at our backs…

• There are 100,000 Republicans in Montgomery County. That is a lot of fire power!!!
• There are 11 County Council seats and 5 with no democratic incumbent. That is a lot of openings!!
• We will get single member districts to allow our legislative candidates the go heads up against Democratic candidates. That is a great opportunity!!!
• We have 5 million dollars of Public Election Funding which is available to County Council candidates. That is a lot of funding for candidates that step up.

We need your help to capitalize on these opportunities and make a difference. The Republican party needs your time, talent and treasure.

1. We need great candidates. If you know anyone that is passionate about a specific issue such as education, refunding the police, elimination of CRT, public safety or taxes and would like to run for public office, please have them contact me personally.
2. We need great volunteers. If you know anyone that wants to get involved but may not want to be in the spotlight, please have them contact me.
3. We need your treasure. If we are going to make a difference, we need your treasure to reach the voters of our great county with a clear, simple common sense and fair message. This outreach takes money… lots on money for social media, flyers, events, etc.  Please donate HERE.

Read this November newsletter and see that our Montgomery County Republicans are doing so much, fighting to ensure a brighter future for our kids, a better environment for our businesses, and a more prosperous and free future for us all.

Send me a note, tell me how we’re doing and your ideas for the future. Your notes give us strength, and it’s great to hear from you. Send it to [email protected]

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You're already getting The Party Line, now we need all Republicans to sign up to receive our on-line newsletter. Printing and postage are prohibitively expensive - and folks deserve communication to be informed. Ask your family, friends and neighbors to sign up HERE. Moderates, conservatives, non-affiliated, Independents, even Democrats who've been left behind by their Party...all are welcome here. 

Here's the address to sign up! https://www.mcgop.com/join